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New York office-to-residential conversions keep expanding despite Pfizer scare
About 70 conversion projects with more than 20,000 potential units are underway, and roughly 5,000 units of permanently affordable housing are in progress within two years.
Commercial Observer says New York remains a national leader in office-to-residential conversions even after two buckling steel columns at the Pfizer Building briefly drew major attention. The outlet reports that approximately 70 projects, with more than 20,000 potential units, are underway, involving billions of dollars in investment and repurposing millions of square feet of defunct office space. Commercial Observer links the surge to two major policy moments in 2024, including a landmark state housing deal in April that introduced regulatory changes and a new incentive program called 467-m, which is designed to induce conversion projects and ensure 25 percent of the resulting homes are permanently affordable. The outlet also points to later 2024 zoning reforms, when the City Council passed City of Yes for Housing Opportunity, which it says updated rules for qualifying buildings and addressed regulatory inconsistencies that had blocked past conversion work, contributing to about 5,000 permanently affordable units underway in roughly two years.